Pauline Garon Movies
Said to have been a protégée of Lillian Gish, blonde Pauline Garon had done some chorus work and appeared in vaudeville prior to becoming a stand-in for Lillian's sister Dorothy. She starred opposite Richard Barthelmess in Henry King's beautiful Sonny (1922) and was awarded a contract by Cecil B. DeMille, who publicized her as "The DeMille Blonde." Garon was cute and personable, but Demille found her somewhat lacking in the acting department and was rumored to have made her watch endless screenings of Gloria Swanson films. Something must have rubbed off and Garon was indeed very much à la Swanson in Adam's Rib (1923), lolling about on a tiger skin as Anna Q. Nilsson's wanton daughter and looking extremely fetching while doing so. King Vidor then used her to maximum effect in Wine of Youth (1923), in which she played a sexually experimental, gin-loving debutante who wakes up fully clothed in the shower after an especially wild night on the town. She stole the film outright from its nominal star, Vidor's wife Eleanor Boardman, and earned a 1923 WAMPAS Baby Star title. Unfortunately, her subsequent films had tempting titles but little else and an abusive marriage to actor/director Lowell Sherman basically sealed her fate. By the early '30s, she was playing bit parts and appearing in French language versions of Paramount films. Divorced from Sherman, Garon later married Ross Forrester, the widower of fellow WAMPAS Baby Star Maryon Aye. She died of a brain disorder at California's Patton State Hospital. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1938
The great Ernst Lubitsch directed this farce (written by Charles M. Brackett and Billy Wilder) about a free-wheeling millionaire, Michael Brandon (Gary Cooper), who enjoys getting married but has a hard time staying married: he's had seven wives and is looking for number eight. He thinks he may have found her in the person of Nicole de Loiselle (Claudette Colbert), whom he meets in a shop on the French Riviera. Unfortunately for Michael, Nicole doesn't like him very much and keeps rebuffing his advances, even though most women would be only too happy to marry him for his money. For just that reason, Nicole's father (Edward Everett Horton), a financially embarrassed French nobleman, strongly suggests that matrimony with Michael would be a good idea, especially since Michael doesn't want to take no for an answer. Nicole eventually relents and weds Michael, but when she tries to get him to change a few of his habits during the honeymoon, he makes plans to divorce her. But Nicole has finally decided that she loves Michael after all, and, as he tries to flee from her, she gives chase, determined to win his heart once and for all. The same story was previously filmed as a silent picture in 1923. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, (more)
- 1937
A young wife butts head with her beautiful best friend after her husband hires the latter to be his personal secretary and then begins spending too much time at the office. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Muir, Beverly Roberts, (more)
- 1936
Italian immigrant George Raft uses his wits and his fists to rise to prominence in a local political machine. He falls in love with Rosalind Russell, the wife of a prominent banker, but discreetly hides his feelings even as he and Russell are thrust together by social circumstances. The banker turns out to be an embezzler, but Raft comes to the rescue by replacing the stolen funds. Accused of conspiring with the banker because he'd failed to make the original embezzlement public, Raft is grilled by a grand jury. Once cleared, Raft is finally able to wed the divorced banker's wife, who it turns out had always had a crush on him. It Had to Happen is most entertaining in its early scenes wherein we see George Raft strongarming his way to success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Rosalind Russell, (more)
Lost in the Stratosphere is one of three Monogram vehicles for James Cagney's look-alike brother William (later a successful producer). Inspired by the U.S. Army's recent experiments with atmospheric balloons, the film stars Cagney and Edward Nugent as inveterate practical jokers Cooper and Wood. Their friendship cleft in twain by the arrival of pretty Evelyn (June Collyer). The climax occurs when one of the boys' pranks misfires, sending both of them aloft in a fragile weather balloon. By the time they've managed to land the darned thing, they've become heroes. The film's laughable special effects (one can see the process-screen clouds "bleed" through the actors) are counterbalanced by the overall energy and enthusiasm of its stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Cagney, Eddie Nugent, (more)
- 1935
Based on a mystery novel by Mignon Eberhart, The White Cockatoo concerns three mysterious murders at a French chateau. The villain seems determined to bump off all the friends and relatives of Sue Talley (Jean Muir) and Jim Sundean (Ricardo Cortez), hoping thereby to get his (or her) hands on the fortune they've inherited. Clouding the issue is the curious behavior of ostensible hero Sundean, who may very well be behind the killings. Though reviewers complained that they couldn't make heads or tails of the storyline, audiences didn't seem to share this confusion. Still, it would have been nice if screenwriters Ben Markson and Lillie Hayward had been more faithful to the Eberhart original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Muir, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
Based on Al Jolson's 1931 Broadway hit, Wonder Bar transposes the "Grand Hotel" formula to a lavish nightclub in Paris' Montmartre district. Presiding over the evening's entertainment is manager-emcee Al Wonder (Jolson), who after greeting his guests in a multitude of languages (a la Joel Grey in Cabaret) introduces a steady stream of top variety acts. The star attraction of the Wonder Bar floor show is the Latin dance team of Inez (Dolores Del Rio) and Harry (Ricardo Cortez). Al worships Inez from afar, but she is hopelessly in love with Harry, a no-good louse who is carrying on with Liane (Kay Francis), the wife of prominent banker Renaud (Henry Kolker). Meanwhile, German military officer Captain Von Ferring (Robert H. Barrat), who has lost his fortune to bad investments, enjoys one last fling at the Wonder Bar before committing suicide. The two main subplots converge when Inez stabs Harry out of pique, whereupon the ever-loyal Al deposits Harry's body in Von Ferring's car, knowing full well that Von Ferring intends to drive himself off a steep hill to his death. Never letting Inez find out that she killed Harry, Al stands stoically aside as she finds true happiness with composer Tommy (Dick Powell). Lest this all sound heavily somberly serious, it should be noted that Wonder Bar is chock full of laughs, from both Jolson (who runs through quite a repertoire of tried-and-true routines) and the drunken antics of "tired business men" Hugh Herbert and Hobart Cavanaugh. The musical numbers staged by Busby Berkeley range from sedate to incredible, with the bizarrely racist 10-minute "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule" (truly a jaw-dropping experience) falling into the latter category. The film's most outrageous moment, however, is an uninhibited chunk of homosexual humor on the dance floor ("Boys will be boys!", crows Jolson) which just barely squeaked past the Hollywood censors! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, Dick Powell, (more)
When a patient dies of heart failure, society doctor Michael Travers (Lew Cody), takes an interest in her 14-year-old daughter Judy (Sally O'Neil), whom he makes his ward. Against the wishes of his fiancée, socialite Diane Manners (Aileen Pringle), Michael leaves for an extended business trip to Europe. Upon his return three years later, the good doctor falls desperately in love with his now fetching teenage ward, and is angered by the news that she is engaged to young Dick Manners (Edward Morgan, Diane's brother. When Judy agrees to delay her upcoming wedding, a furious Dick crashes his car. Badly hurt in the accident, Judy is saved on the operation table by Michael, who begs her forgiveness. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, (more)
This brisk Monogram melodrama includes all the requisite entertainment elements: Talented cast, solid story, a plenitude of suspense, and a few bonus song numbers. Arnold Gray plays Grant Murdock, a popular radio crooner who, truth be told, can't sing a note. For appearance's sake, the handsome Murdock is propped up before the microphone while his voice is supplied by homely hunchback Norman Wilder (Ralph Forbes). When Murdock is murdered, suspicion immediately falls upon Wilder -- who in fact had intended to bump off the phony, except that someone beat him to it. Knowing that no one will believe his story, Wilder scurries off into the night, with police hot on his heels. The actual culprit very nearly gets off scot-free but is ultimately undone by a sudden attack of conscience -- too late, alas, to save Murdock from his inexorable fate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Forbes, Vivienne Osborne, (more)
In this drama, a recently convicted criminal boards a train bound for the prison where he will be hanged. His wife rides with him and en route tells a reporter how her husband had accidentally killed a man while protecting her. The reporter, who is dying of tuberculosis, is touched by the story and decides to help them by knocking out a guard, helping the man to escape and jumping off the train to his death. When authorities find the corpse, the assume it belongs to the young convict, and the real killer and his wife are free to start a new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Brian, Russell Hopton, (more)
- 1933
This cheapie but goodie stars Skeets Gallagher as a young man who doesn't want to be strong-armed into a questionable business deal by his pal Johnny Arthur. Thus, he tells Arthur that he doesn't need any extra money because he's inherited a million bucks. Soon a rumor spreads that Gallegher is worth several million -- and he dare not tell the truth for fear of causing his beloved aunt to suffer a fatal heart attack. Among the many perils facing the newly rich, our hero is forced to fend off the attentions of three predatory females. The familiar faces in the supporting cast include three veterans of the Hal Roach two-reeler mill: Pansy Johnny Arthur, tough guy Walter Long, and Gracie Allen sound-alike Gay Seabrook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Burgess, Merna Kennedy, (more)
- 1931
Echec au Roi (The King Checkmated) was adapted from The Queen's Husband, a play by Robert E. Sherwood. The story concentrates on the amiable but ineffectual king (Emile Chautard) of a mythical island who gets more than he bargained for when his wife, the Queen (Francoise Rosay) decides to visit the U.S. While he dutifully accompanies the Queen to the States, a revolution breaks out in his own land. Adding to his headaches is the fact that his daughter, Princess Anne (Pauline Garon), insists upon marrying a commoner. Acting without the Queen's approval for the first time in his life, the King settles his island's internal problems and gives his blessing to his daughter's fiancee. Echec au Roi was the first French-language film to be released by United Artists; its English-language counterpart, The Royal Bed, had previously been distributed by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Pauline Garon, (more)
- 1930
Le Spectre Vert (The Green Spook) is the French-language version of MGM's The Unholy Night. The original English version was directed by Lionel Barrymore, while the French adaptation was helmed by Jacques Feyder. No changes were made in the plot, which concerned the mysterious methodical murders of several retired British military officers. All of the victims had been members of the same regiment in India, a fact which puts terror in the hearts of the surviving officers. These survivors are gathered together in the home of Lord Montague (Andre Luguet, in the role originally played by Roland Young); the next morning, all the officers except Montague are found strangled. Struggling to solve the mystery and stop the killings is Inspector Ramsay of the Yard (Claude Fleming in the English version, Jules Raucourt in the French), who uses a seance to coerce the guilty party into confessing. Boris Karloff, cast in the small role of a Hindu servant in The Unholy Night, repeated this assignment in Le Spectre Vert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jetta Goudal, Pauline Carton, (more)
- 1930
In this drama, a jockey gets caught up in a rivalry between two horse-owners. More trouble ensues when the jockey and one of the owner's daughters are attracted to each other. He then falls in love with a tainted but seductive girl working for a sneaky gambler and soon finds himself deeply in debt. To pay it back, the hapless rider is forced to throw a race. Fortunately, he decides not to, and he wins the race. In the end his true-love's father ends up paying his debts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1929
While investigating a double murder, reporters Grant Withers and Marian Nixon fall in love. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1929
The 1929 Wall Street crash was still two months in the future when Warner Bros.' Gamblers was released in the late summer of 1929. Jason Robards Sr. and George Fawcett play Carvel Emerson Jr. and Emerson Sr., father-and-son stock manipulators who "gamble" their firm's assets on a risky proposition. The plot is spiced up by the fact that Emerson Jr. is the former sweetheart of Catherine Darwin (Lois Wilson), the wife of diligent district attorney James Darwin (H.B. Warner). When Emerson Jr. is caught investing money that doesn't belong to him, he is indicted on a swindling charge, giving Darwin a golden opportunity to prosecute his romantic rival in court. A surprise plot twist in the last reel hardly compensates for the film's overall predictability. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H.B. Warner, Lois Wilson, (more)
- 1928
Produced by small-scale firm Peerless, this silent melodrama told the ancient story of the girl whose refusal to "put out" loses her a chance for stage prominence. French-Canadienne Pauline Garon played the girl this time, with William Eugene as the unscrupulous theatrical backer and Allan Simpson as the nice boy she meets in Havana. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Simpson, Gladden James, (more)
- 1928
This romantic silent comedy was produced by small time Trinity Pictures, according to whom the answer to the title's question was a resounding: Yes! Wealthy Buddy Shaw is fought over by scheming Lorraine Eason and pretty but naive Pauline Garon. The former attempts to win the boy away from the latter by placing him in a compromising situation in an isolated mountain cabin. Miss Garon, however, smells a rat and pulls a few tricks of her own. The only "name" in the cast, Pauline Garon was a 1923 WAMPAS Baby Star who enjoyed a brief vogue in Cecil B. DeMille comedies. After the changeover to sound, the Canadian-born actress mainly appeared in French language versions of Hollywood films. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivian Rich, Bud Shaw, (more)
- 1928
Defying her strait-laced aunt, country lass Pauline Garon heads to New York, where she gets a job as a cabaret dancer. Gangster Wheeler Oakman falls in love with Garon, and he's not a man to take "no" for an answer. In fact, whenever someone else expresses an interest in the girl, that someone else usually winds up full of bullet holes. But Garon is devoted to wastrelly Robert Agnew, whose fondness for liquor clouds his affections for the heroine. Oakman is all set to bump off Agnew, but he changes his mind when Garon's life is placed in jeopardy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Agnew, Wheeler Oakman, (more)
- 1928
A long-lost service comedy from Poverty Row entrepreneur Morris R. Schlank, Dugan of the Dugouts starred Danny O'Shea in the title-role as a "dance hall lad" joining the army because his girl friend, Betty (Pauline Garon), likes a man in uniform. There is a nasty top sergeant (Ernest Hilliard), who proves to be a foreign spy and the denouement has friends and foes alike under the influence of laughing gas. Producer Schlank, who released his films through Anchor Film Distribution, was a purveyor of inexpensive Hank Mann comedy one-reelers and very low-budget Westerns featuring the likes of Bob Reeves and Bill Patton. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Garon, Danny O'Shea, (more)
- 1927
Polly (Pauline Garon) and Gert (Gertrude Short) are a pair of lingerie models, ever on the prowl for boyfriends. When the girls "steal" the sweethearts of vaudeville's Dotty Sisters (Lillian Hackett, Jean Van Vliet), the Dottys retaliate by getting our heroines fired. Polly and Gert then turn the tables by kidnapping the sisters, swiping their costumes and going on stage in their stead. The girls' performance is atrocious, but the audience is in stitches, and soon Polly and Gert are signed to a long-term contract as a comedy act! Ladies at Ease was undoubtedly inspired by the career of the Cherry Sisters, who from all accounts were the least-talented duo ever seen on any American stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Garon, Gardner James, (more)
- 1927
Chorus girl Pauline Garon realizes she'll never get anywhere without publicity. To draw attention to herself, she claims to be engaged to a visiting Russian prince. The nobleman in question calls her bluff by marrying her, and that's how Garon ends up as A Princess on Broadway. Critics were under-enthused by this minor effort, carping that the leading lady was even less convincing as a chorus girl than as a princess. Some nice words, however, were reserved for leading man Johnny Walker and second female lead Dorothy Dwan, as well as for comic relief Neely Edwards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Garon, Johnnie Walker, (more)
- 1927
Though he'd fallen from the upper ranks of directors, James Young was still capable of excellent work in 1927. Young's low-budget Driven From Home recycles one of the oldest plots on record: the cruel father who orders his daughter out of the house when she elopes with the "wrong man." The girl (Virginia Lee Corbin) must not only contend with her father's rejection, but also with the lustful advances of opium-den proprietor Sojin. The blood-and-thunder aspects of the storyline are handled with taste and artistry by Young, who never gives the impression that he's "slumming". Driven From Home was produced by Chadwick films, one of several small companies that was later absorbed by Warner Bros.-First National. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna May Wong, Melbourne MacDowell, (more)
